Anniversaries of loss in September

Sept. 11 marked the 40th anniversary of the overthrow and U.S. backed coup and murder of democratically elected Salvador Allende in Chile.

Sept. 15 marked the 50th anniversary of the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Ala., where Addie Mae Collins, Denise McNair, Carole Roberston and Cynthia Wesley, ages 11 to 14, were murdered.

Salvador Allende, a physician, was elected president of Chile in 1970 and attempted to turn the tide of U.S. and western exploitation of Chilean resources, particularly copper, and address the widespread poverty that relationship engendered.

The 16th Street Baptist Church bombing on that Sunday was a response to this country's human rights movement. From 1942 to that time there were over 50 bombings in Birmingham. This case was particularly savage because one of the little girls' head was decapitated. This tragedy shows domestic terrorism has always existed in this country's history, especially when there was a movement to treat African-Americans as human beings.

Likewise, Salvador Allende attempted through a free health-care system, free milk for children in schools as well as providing hundreds of thousands of residential units, pension plans and benefits for workers, to bring about a more humane existence for Chilean people. When he nationalized the banking and copper industries, ITT along with the C.I.A, financed and supported the violent coup that resulted in the installation of General Augusto Pinochet and the murder and torture of over 5,000 Chileans.

These crimes will remain a permanent part of the American landscape.

Clifford Jackson

Larchmont

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

Email this article

Anniversaries of loss in September

Sept. 11 marked the 40th anniversary of the overthrow and U.S. backed coup and murder of democratically elected Salvador Allende in Chile.

A link to this page will be included in your message.

Real Deals

Flip, shop and save on specials from your favorite retailers in the Lower Hudson Valley, 10604.